Brick by brick
Nicole d’Entremont is a Peaks Island neighbor who inspires me deeply. We met in Eleanor Morse’s Sudden Fiction course years ago, when she first arrived on the island. Both Eleanor and Nicole have been tremendous mentors for me, with writing and leading the way in social justice activism. I made this card for Nicole from an illustration I did for The Star Fruit Tree, a Vietnamese folk tale. She traveled to Vietnam in December, volunteering in a Habitat for Humanity Global Build in the Mekong Delta. Nicole was recruited by old friends who had, like her, worked at the Catholic...
Read Morewhat spring break?
While the temps still hover around freezing, I wonder where spring is hiding. We had a fleeting visit from our MICA art student during the first half of her spring break, yet it filled my well like nothing else can. Just before Daisy returned from Baltimore, Maine got dumped again with raw beauty. The birds don’t care, they’ve been flocking our feeder with a springy frenzy. Before heading to the airport, I returned this book, about a young recruit in the 10th Mountain Division, in which my dad served during WW2. It would have been his 93rd birthday on March 9. Soon enough, our...
Read MoreRed Herring
Yet another storm bears down, leaving us hunkered down in the studio. Around this time last year, I was sketching up a storm for Portland Stage’s production of Red Herring by Michael Hollinger. A fable about marriage in a pulp noir package, the script is loaded with detectives, dames, and a dead spy. My sketches are super rough, because I had about 8 weeks to do 7 posters, but you get the idea. Act one, scene 1 calls for a billboard of Winslow Homer’s painting, The Herring, to glow above the stage. Tried that in my first idea. Fishing themes and variations thereof…...
Read MorePicture Book at Maine College of Art
It feels like the blink of an eye, but we’re already at mid semester in IL 310, The Picture Book course I’m leading at Maine College of Art. We began with a snow day, and we’ve been catching up ever since. I lugged in a suitcase of children’s books, my absolute favorite topic. I am completely jazzed to have the jazzy Liz Long as my teaching assistant! She is an alum in MECA’s IL program and a recent graduate of MECA’s MAT program. She, too, came armed with a batch of favorites plus stories of her blooming career. We discussed what makes good picture books...
Read MoreBlack History Month
I believe in drawing as an act of learning. Illustration requires research and active looking. I’ve been learning about social justice, white privilege, systemic racism, and a whole lot more through Black Girl in Maine, a media company led by Peaks Island resident, Shay Stewart Bouley. I did a drawing on the 6 month anniversary of the Women’s March, inspired by Shay. I began drawing notable black women during February, a daily challenge to learn about each person, their features and their power. My first sketch of Oprah followed her historic speech at the Golden Globes. I was...
Read MoreLlove is Llove
I heard the news today. We surely need love more than ever, every minute. I’ve been doing my tiny bit to spread it around. A few weeks ago, I dropped off a pile of cards and valentines at Knit Wit Yarn Shop, the one and only place to find my cards out in the world. Then I made a collage with a re-purposed illustration of mine for the first of February’s Rabbit Rabbit tradition. It got me thinking about an animal themed valentine. From a knitting book I illustrated this llama gave me an idea. It feels more urgent that opposites need to love each other. What animal would make a...
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